A little over a month ago, Jameis Winston watching a New York Giants game from the sideline would have been a non-story. In Week 6, it was a defining reality of the team's disheartening 34-27 loss to the New Orleans Saints. That is how far the Giants have fallen since their exciting season-opening win.
Everything is still in front of them, and they might just have found their starting quarterback for the rest of the year in J.J. McCarthy, but there is no other way to define Sunday's defeat as a step backward. Meanwhile, another team that has spent the majority of this decade at the bottom of its division is on the rise.
The Cleveland Browns won their fourth game of the year this week and now hold tiebreakers over two of their rivals as they stand atop the AFC North. Deshaun Watson has the Browns cooking. The dichotomy between winners and losers is always stark in the NFL, and Week 6 in particular displayed just how wide the chasm can be.
Below are those who came out on top and those who were not nearly as fortunate during Sunday's action. The situation in the Meadowlands is not a complete disaster, given that the Giants still lead the NFC East, but Sunday's loss hurts. There is no such thing as a "must-win" game in Week 6, but what the Giants just experienced was a defeat in a contest that held a lot of hope for New York.
The opportunity to pull further ahead in a downtrodden division while playing a Saints team on a three-game losing streak escaped them. That result could haunt them down the line. Not only had New Orleans gone a month between victories, but it also trotted out a quarterback in Tyler Shough who has broken bones in his non-throwing hand.
The New York defense watched the injured signal-caller throw for three touchdowns and rack up 34 points. And on the other side of the ball, perhaps John Harbaugh should not have relegated Cam Skattebo to the sideline, because giving him only six snaps and holding him without a touch did not help the Giants' offense. He struggled with fumbles in Weeks 1-5, yes, but he remains one of the team's top weapons and was noticeably absent while the unit around him floundered.
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